Twelve

Twilight was not nervous. She was nervous. Nervous would imply that she didn't have the situation under control, and that was  impossible because she always had the situation under control. Even on the rare occasions that she was pushed against the ropes, she would eventually find a away to best whatever it was that was threatening her or her friends.

After all, since when has Twilight Sparkle failed?

So when she was going on a train with five zodiacs, who just happened to be completely foreign to ways of the world, on their way to Canterlot, the capitol of the country, she wasn't counting the absurd number of ways that this could go wrong, nor how Celestia would react at seeing them.

Well, maybe she was a little worried at the last one, but it wasn't her main concern at the moment.

"I don't like it." Aries complained.

"Well tough. You need to blend in. And putting those things you call horns out for everypony to see just doesn't cut it." Twilight finished putting the blue hoodie over Aries's head. It liked Aries had suddenly swallowed a watermelon, but it did the trick. Capricorn would still be a problem though. Those horns would just not fit in anything

"Hide them Capricorn." Leo ordered.

"I'd rather not." Capricorn replied. Leo's reply of slap on his head was enough to convince him. Capricorn closed his eyes, focusing for a few seconds. His horns trembled a little before shrinking away until nothing but two short stubbles remained on his head. Twilight had to resist the urge to scream at the sheer level of biological wrongness that such change should imply.

"You can change your shape?" she asked, trying not to shiver. Capricorn nodded before putting on his own green hoodie jacket.

"I have to say, I like this hoodie. Can't we put some holes on it?" Capricon asked. Twilight shot a glare at the insistence.

"You can't keep your horns Cap. Don't bother." Libra said. Capricorn frowned, but complied anyways, putting the hood around his head.

"Why are they so grumpy about their horns? They are just horns." Rarity commented. Virgo sipped from her cup of tea before answering.

"Horns are a sign of strength in many of our planets. Virility for males, power for females." Virgo sipped another gulp. This tea was delicious. "I believe its the same thing with a pegasus and its wings."

Rarity looked back at Aries, who was trying to show as much horn as possible without actually ruining the disguise. It made quite a bit of sense when you started thinking about it. Maybe thats why Blueblood's horn was so blunt. She chuckled at the thought.

"So, tell us about this Princess Celestia." Capricorn said, taking a seat besides Leo. Virgo an Libra also approached Twilight eager to hear the story.  Twilight sighed tiredly, but smiled anyways. She loved talking about her teacher. Like how caring she was, or how kind and friendly. Also how wise and how great and how wonderful she was and trusting and loyal and forgiving.

"She is the ruler of Equestria and Twilight's personal teacher." Rarity said, as if she was anticipating Twilight's long answer.

Twilight shot her a glare. She was no Rainbow Dash, but how dare her steal her thunder like that!

"You have the ruler of your country as your personal teacher?" Virgo asked, visibly impressed. "How did that happen?"

This time Twilight did not gave Rarity the chance to out speak her, and quickly explained the whole story of her cutie mark. After a quick glance at Rarity, making sure that she wouldn't interrupt, Twilight began adding the full details of the story, trying to be as clear as possible.

"So you turned Spike into a hulking monster." Capricorn chuckled. "I would have liked to see that."

"Was anyone hurt?" Virgo asked.

"The Princess managed to fix everything before the situation escalated further. She even turned my parents back to normal."

"What happened to them?" Aries asked.

"I turned them into pots."

An uncomfortable silence fell among the aliens as the revelation began to sink. However, before any of them could say something, a loud whistle blew, its loud noise piercing the air like a knife. The train began slowing down as buildings slowly began appearing on sight, replacing the valleys.

"We have arrived!" rarity exclaimed cheerfully, happy to be in Canterlot once more. Aries stared around in awe as they left the train. A few ponies around them gave them some passing glances, but nothing more.

"I haven't seen rock this white since my last trip to Arietis!"

"Impressive isn't it?" Rarity said.

The white city of Canterlot was, as always, spotless. The white marble, coupled with the near fanatical cleaning services, served as a beacon of Equestria's good fortune. It also served as a rather visible stop sign for flyers. They used to drop like flies once they crashed against the earlier gray rock.

"What now Twilight?" Leo asked.

"Well, the princess already knows were coming, so we don't have to got through all the formality. We just gotta go to the palace and announce ourselves."

"The castle? You mean that large set of towers of there?" Virgo pointed a hoof. "Its on the other side of the city. Uphill at that. How are going to-"

POP!

"...never mind..." Virgo had to steady herself on a wall as Twilight's magic dissipated. Leo and Capricorn were mostly fine, except for the greenish tint that decorated their faces. Virgo seemed unusually fine.

"How come you are not feeling the after effects of the teleportation?" Capricorn groaned. Virgo blushed, smiled...and didn't say anything else.

Some things are better left unsaid. So lets get back to the story shall we?

"Those guards look really impressive." Virgo noted as a couple of guards opened the main doors for them.

"They certainly look like that don't they?" Rarity replied.

"Didn't stop the changelings from taking over Canterlot in less than ten minutes." Twilight snarked. The seven ponies made their ways across the halls. The zodiacs couldn't help but to stare in awe at the pristine sight that surrounded them. Leo was particularly enchanted with the armor of the guards, making many of them uncomfortable with her gaze.

"You can eat the eye candy later Leo. Lets go meet the princesses." Capricorn chuckled. Leo blushed and frowned.

After a couple minutes of walking, they arrived in front of two large, golden doors, guarded by two pegasus guards. Twilight didn't even have to say anything before one of them entered the throne room behind them.

"Now, please behave okay?" Twilight asked.

"Don't worry Twilight" Libra answered. "We have dealt with royalty before."

The doors opened once more, beckoning them to come in. Twilgith sighed deeply and entered, followed by the rest of the group.